This invention relates to the art of label loopers and label looping methods.
The following prior art is made of record: U.S. Pat. No. 3,106,809 to Forthman, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,411 to Forthman, Jr. et al, and PAXAR 8500 Loop Fold Attachment, Operation/Maintenance and Parts List, February 1995.
This invention relates to improved method and apparatus for making a looped label and accumulating successive labels in a stack.
It is a feature of the invention to provide a label looper having a high capacity for looping labels and in particular to a looper which has a higher capacity than a parent device such as a printer which prints labels arranged in a web and cuts individual labels from the web. In this way the capacity of the parent device is not restricted by the looper.
It is a feature of the invention to provide an improved looper which uses a pair of rotating rolls and wherein a portion of the label is inserted into the nip of the rolls to fold or loop the label into a looped label.
It is another feature of the invention to use selectively rotatable pressing rolls to press or iron the looped label at the fold line to help maintain the looped label in its folded condition. At least one and preferably both of the pressing rolls are driven to bring the folded leading end of the looped label into the nip of the pressing rolls. When the looped label is thus in the nip, the rolls preferably do not rotate. In that at least one of the pressing rolls is heated, and the rolls cause the portion of the looped label at and adjacent to the fold line to be pressed or ironed, to help maintain the looped label in its looped condition. After the label has been pressed for a predetermined period of time, pressing rolls rotate to advance the pressed folded label into a stacker.
It is a feature of the invention to provide a self-contained looper that loops and stacks, which takes the straight label from the parent device, such as a printer, and advances it to a predetermined position. When the leading end of the label reaches that predetermined position, an inserter folds the label at a predetermined intermediate location between its ends and inserts it into the nip of a pair of rotating rolls which help further fold the label. The label is transported to between a pair of pressing rolls which press the fold into the label. After this pressing action is complete, the pressing rolls rotate to advance the pressed looped label into a stacker.
Other features of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.